Albuquerque & Texas Personal Injury Lawyers

Have you been catastrophically injured in a car wreck or other accident? Under the law, if another person or party’s actions were in part responsible for causing your injuries, you may have the right to file a lawsuit against them in order to recover financial compensation for your injuries.

At Buckingham Barrera Law Firm, we know that it’s easy for victims and their families to feel overwhelmed after a serious accident. Aside from the physical pain and suffering and mental anguish associated with their injuries, victims are often confronted by financial instability and even the possibility of bankruptcy as bills pile up and returning to work remains impossible.

We can help. We’re a dedicated personal injury law firm, which means that negotiating or litigating insurance claims on behalf of accident victims is all we do. We represent victims of auto accidents and medical malpractice, as well as individuals who have been seriously injured in oil field accidents. We also assist family members and personal representatives of estates with filing wrongful death claims in Texas or New Mexico.

We have helped numerous accident victims take on big insurance companies and get the financial compensation they deserve for their injuries focusing on the following areas:

Whether it involves a car accident, incident of medical malpractice, oil field accident, or other factor, most personal injury cases hinge on the legal doctrine of negligence. This means that individuals or companies whose careless or reckless behavior contributed to causing a serious accident can be held legally liable for doing so. This doesn’t happen automatically, however. In order to make their case, accident victims have to demonstrate that another party’s breach of some legal duty of care directly caused their injuries.

CAR ACCIDENTS

Since 1999, Buckingham Barrera has been helping victims of car crashes take on big insurance companies. We know that driving can become deadly in an instant if other drivers don’t observe the rules of the road, and we’ve made it our mission to hold negligent or criminally reckless drivers accountable on behalf of our clients in their personal injury cases. There are some elements common to most personal injury cases, including the basic legal principles involved and the steps in the claims process. We are available to answer your questions and get started on assisting you today. Learn More >>

OIL FIELD ACCIDENTS

The Permian basin alone represents a fifth of our nation’s petroleum and natural gas resources. As the development of these resources expands, so does the potential for tragedy for families living in Texas and New Mexico communities. Our law firm has a track record of success when it comes to representing workers who have been injured in pipeline explosions or other kinds of oil field accidents. We have successfully helped many victims recover financial damages. Depending on the circumstances of your injury, you may also be able to file third party lawsuits against contractors or other parties in addition to any workers’ compensation claims concerned. We know how a sudden oil field accident can devastate a family emotionally and leave them financially exposed due to loss of wages, expensive medical bills, and other factors. If this sounds familiar, we urge you to discuss your situation with an oil field accident lawyer as soon as possible.Learn More >>

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

As health care consumers, we have the right to expect that the physicians, nurses, and other health care personnel who are treating us perform their jobs with the highest standards of professionalism. When a health care worker violates their expected duty of care, the results can be catastrophic for patients and their families. If you or a member of your family suspects that you have sustained a bile duct injury, a brain injury, or another catastrophic injury as a result of an incident of medical malpractice, contact Buckingham Barrera Law Firm today. We have a long history of helping victims of medical malpractice prevail in their battles against health insurance companies and hospitals and getting them the compensation they are entitled to under the law. Learn More >>

Brain Injury

Not all brain injuries involve vehicle collisions, sports, or falls. Brain injuries can also arise because of surgery-related infections, medication errors, surgical errors that occur during procedures involving brain tumors, a failure to correctly diagnose a severe stroke, or the carelessness of health care workers during the birthing process. In any case, you have a substantial fight ahead of you when it comes to securing financial compensation. Don’t try to take on hospitals and their insurance companies alone if you or someone in your family has suffered a catastrophic brain injury as a result of medical malpractice. Talk to a brain injury attorney at Buckingham Barrera Law Firm today.

THIRD PARTY LAWSUITS

Sometimes there are individuals or other parties whose responsibility for an accident may not be obvious. For instance, if a car accident occurred in part due to a malfunctioning or defective component in either vehicle, the vehicle manufacturer (and sometimes distributors and wholesalers) may be legally liable for a plaintiff’s injuries. Such so-called third party lawsuits often increase the amount of compensation to which an accident victim may be entitled, but they can be easily overlooked when such liability isn’t immediately obvious. This is another reason why it is always advisable to consult with a lawyer when filing a claim. An accident attorney may be able to identify third parties who are responsible for your situation and help you file a claim against them as well.

UNDERSTANDING THE CLAIMS PROCESS: WHAT TO DO FOLLOWING A CATASTROPHIC INJURY

The process of filing an insurance claim is very complicated regardless of what state you may live in. If you have been seriously injured in an accident, you or a member of your family should consult an accident attorney before proceeding with the claims process. The best time for an accident victim to speak with an attorney is immediately after they have been treated at the hospital for their injuries. If they are unable to speak due to their injuries, another family member can – and should – act on their behalf. In any case, the legal process of filing a claim usually involves the same series of steps.

The first step in filing a claim involves letting those parties whom you believe may be responsible for your injuries know that you are planning on filing one. A simple typed letter is usually sufficient. Letters of notification aren’t formal accusations; rather, you’re just letting the parties concerned know that they may be formally accused of liability for your injuries at some later date. After this, you are expected to gather evidence concerning the incident, which may include revisiting the scene of an accident, finding and safeguarding any relevant physical evidence, locating and interviewing witnesses, consulting medical experts, and collecting extensive medical documentation about your injuries and your subsequent medical treatment. The third step in filing a claim involves establishing the guilty parties. Based on the evidence you’ve gathered, you should be able to determine which of the parties you initially notified are, in fact, responsible for your injuries.

DETERMINING HOW MUCH YOUR CLAIM IS WORTH AND WRITING THE DEMAND LETTER

Once you’ve established exactly who caused an accident, you need to figure out how much your claim is worth and then write a formal demand letter to the appropriate insurance company based on whom you determined to be the parties responsible for an accident. Figuring out how much a claim is worth involves a number of factors that include a victim’s pain and suffering as well as the actual economic costs of an accident, but there are formulas available for determining this sum that you can discuss with your lawyer. The demand letter itself is the most important part of the claims process. In the demand letter, you are making the case to a claims examiner that you deserve to receive monetary compensation for your ordeal. A demand letter usually includes the following information:

A detailed description of your injuries

Where you are at now with your recovery process

The names of those persons or parties whom you are formally accusing of being responsible for causing the accident

What kinds of medical treatment you received after your accident and how much this cost

How much money you lost due to being unable to work

What other damages you endured besides monetary damages (i.e., the extent of your pain and suffering)

NEGOTIATIONS AND POSSIBLE LITIGATION

What comes next is a series of negotiations between you and the claims examiner who is employed by the insurance company in which the two of you essentially haggle over how much your claim is worth and try to arrive at a mutually acceptable settlement. Of course, claims examiners will usually try, at least initially, to persuade accident victims to settle for much less than they deserve. Claimants who have done their homework and know how much their claim is worth should hold out for a fair offer and certainly seek legal representation before accepting any settlement. If negotiation fails, of course, your personal injury case proceeds to the final phase, which is civil litigation.

In practice, most personal injury cases can be settled without litigation, but accident victims need to be prepared for the possibility that their case will go to court. The litigation process can be extremely time-consuming and tedious, but sometimes it’s the only way a plaintiff can get the financial compensation they are owed. The good news is that insurance companies are generally reluctant to allow a case to proceed to trial because of the time and expense they involve, and will frequently offer a fair settlement at the last moment to avoid litigation.

CIVIL COURT AND PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS

Many serious accidents also involve criminal charges against the individuals who caused them. In the United States, criminal and civil court are two separate institutions, and it’s not unusual for a defendant to be facing both criminal charges and a civil trial at the same time. If you were hit by a drunk driver and the drunk driver was arrested for DUI or for other criminal charges after this accident, you still have the right to file a personal injury claim against them. Nor does a defendant have to be found guilty of a crime in order to be held liable for an accident in civil court. In many cases, an individual can be found innocent of their criminal charges but still be held responsible in civil court for an accident, entitling a plaintiff to financial compensation. Talk to a dedicated personal injury attorney to learn more about the differences between criminal and civil court and whether or not proceeding with a claim makes sense based on your circumstances.

LET US GET TO WORK ON YOUR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM OR WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT TODAY

It’s important to understand that although the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury case in the State of Texas is generally two years from the date of an accident (and three years in New Mexico), it’s in your best interest to hire an injury attorney quickly. Much of the claims process involves interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and requesting medical documentation, all of which becomes more difficult with the passage of time.

Regardless of whether your case is ultimately resolved through negotiation or through the courts, the best way to secure a favorable outcome and get the financial compensation you deserve is to partner with a dedicated personal injury lawyer as soon as you have received medical treatment for your injuries. When an insurance company knows that an accident victim has partnered with a capable injury lawyer, they will often throw the towel in early in the negotiations process and offer an acceptable settlement.

Call Buckingham Barrera Law Firm today to schedule a consultation with an accident attorney who can help you with the process of filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death suit after a catastrophic car crash or other accident.

Call Buckingham Barrera Law Firm at (432) 570-1919 to schedule a free consultation with a dedicated personal injury attorney today or contact us via email with any questions you might have.